Advancing Our Knowledge of Hockey Through Statistical Analysis

Tag: Joffrey Lupul

One of the surprise player performances so far this season is that of Jakub Voracek. Voracek currently sits tied for 7th in points with 10 goals and 27 points in 24 games. That puts him on pace to score 54 points in this lock-out shortened 48 game season which is 4 points more than he has scored in any 82 game season (career best was 50 points in 2009-10 in 81 games). Last season when Rick Nash was on the trade block I wrote an article about Nash and in it I had a few comments about Jakub Voracek as

Ok, let me justify that headline a little before people get all over me. He isn’t completely terrible as in he shouldn’t be in the league terrible. He’s just a terrible first line center, and probably not a very good second or third line center either (at least not until he improves defensively). He’d be an OK 4th liner and injury fill in depth player at close to minimum salary. Let me explain. The last 2 seasons Bozak has mostly played with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul became his second winger when he joined the Leafs. Those are two pretty

Before Leaf fans get all over me, let me say that there is nothing wrong with being a complementary player. Every team has and needs them and they can be valuable pieces of the puzzle. When I say complementary player I mean he is a player that needs others to help him get the most out of his game rather than someone who can elevate his game and those around him on his own. The complementary player isn’t as valuable as the guy who can elevate his game and the game of his line mates on his own (I call

The other day I introduced a new way of visualizing player time on ice and usage and today I am taking that one step further by superimposing a players performance on those charts. So, with the TOI usage charts I presented the other day you can see how frequently a player was on the ice in any particular situation relative to how frequently the team plays during that situation. So, a player might be on the ice for 30% of the teams 5v5 game tied minutes. The next logical step is to take a look at his production during those

The Leafs announced today that they have re-signed Joffrey Lupul to a 5 year contract extension at an average salary and cap hit of $5.25M/yr. Some Leaf fans are a little dismayed at both the value and the term of the deal as many people seem to view Lupul as a second line winger with a defensive liability that should have been traded, not re-signed. I won’t deny that Lupul is a defensive liability (though wingers generally have less impact on defense than centers or defensemen), but I will dispute the claim that he is a second line winger. Last

A lot has been made about Joffrey Lupul’s “career year” this year and some Leaf fans are even suggesting that now is the time to trade him while his value is at an all-time high. While it is true that he is on pace for career high in goals and points I would like to suggest that this is not because he is having a ‘career year’ but that he is being given greater opportunity. He has always been this good and there is no reason to expect that he cannot repeat this years performance next season. When I analyze

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